Abstract

This article reports on a methodological framework undertaken by the authors to help the stakeholders in The Partnership of the City of NY to understand a group of significant transportation capital investment projects and to provide a means to discriminate among them. The authors' major objects was to inform these stakeholders how to make rational and systematic choices based on economic and transportation grounds, in an environment where appropriate data is lacking, no comprehensive regional transportation plan or objectives are defined, and the decision-making environment is highly fragmented. After the authors define the problem, they discuss details of the analysis, including the methodology used, the data sources, and the cost-benefit models. The authors then introduce the Goals Achievement Matrix for the selection and prioritization of projects. The final selections discuss key results and consider specific and general policy implications. Out of the sizeable number of large-scale transportation investment projects that have been proposed for New York City, eight were selected for close scrutiny and assessment. The authors briefly discuss the top three: the Fulton Transit Center and permanent PATH station, the Penn Station/Farley Post Office, and the Number 7 Subway Extension. These projects scored highest on both transportation benefits and economic development benefits scales.